Subconsciously
by SuprSingr
Summary: Read about Arnold's subconscious' little reject group and all they go through being trapped up in the darkest, coldest depths of his mind. It's... hard to explain. You'll have to read to further understand. Arnold is a very complicated individual... Probably discontinued on Copyright grounds.
1. Truth

**A/N: **Yeah, uh… the Dark Arnold on Facebook inspired me. xD Also, reading a bit too much (or is that possible?) of Jenna's works, and also a bit of this goes into the fact that I'm a nutcase. :P You see, from as far back as I could remember, I've had this little mental idea of what my subconscious was like (and also my tastebuds, heart, and antibodies), and it was basically just like named 'SuprSingr Land' where all my different personalities congregated and spent their time. There was Kind SuprSingr, Angsty SuprSingr, Optimistic SuprSingr, Pessimistic SuprSingr, Artistic SuprSingr, Murderous SuprSingr (wait, what?), etc… Heck, what am I talking about 'WAS'? I STILL think that crap. XD Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I mumble to myself, "Stupid Angsty me… she should burn…" XD So yeah, that might have had a bit of a hand in all this, too. :P So don't blame me! Blame Insane SuprSingr!

**Disclaimer: **Nothing is to be own-ed by the person who be writing this here One of the Shots.

* * *

**Subconsciously**

**Truth  
**

As a nine-year-old Arnold walked down the halls of PS118, not a care in the world, and his eyes as half-lidded as they could go, he suddenly bumped into Helga, as per usual. He blinked at bumping into her, straightening up his books and taking a step back from her. "Oh, sorry, Helga." He waited for her to respond.

She just stared at him a moment, her eyes wide, before she scowled darkly and snorted. Loudly. "Yeah, whatever, Football Head. Just don't do it ever again—Oh, what am I saying? Your clumsy butt never run into me again? Yeah, when pigs fly." She rolled her eyes and pushed past him, storming down the halls.

Arnold just stared after her a moment, perplexed, before just shaking his head with a sigh and continuing on his way back to class.

And meanwhile, in the deepest, darkest depths of Arnold's subconscious, in the coldest parts of his mind, there was a small screaming that only JUST reached his conscious mind, and caused Arnold to stop and blink a moment. He just rubbed his ear, shook his head, and kept on walking though, completely unaffected…

But in his subconscious, there was a _completely_ different story…

"…Do you think he heard me?" a small voice whispered anxiously, twisting his sweaty hands over and over.

A pair of eyes looked around, then met back with the other. "I don't think so." His expression went dry. "It figures."

"Don't give up guys. I'm sure with time he'll hear you," an optimistic voice came whispering beside them.

A scoff came, then the dry voice continued, "Six years have passed. Face it, nothing is going to happen."

"But if you just—" the bright voice came again.

"Why are you even talking to us? He listens to YOU all the time," the previous voice darkened, along with his eyes.

The other just blinked. "Just trying to be supportive. I have nothing against you guys."

"Y-Yeah…" the small voice came again, quietly, "don't push him away. We could use all the help we can get."

The dark one rolled his eyes. "Well excuse me for not exactly trusting him."

"Come on, don't be like that," a lighter, very sincere voice came. "What reason would he have for not being on our side?"

"Well," the dark voice came, much quieter this time, "there's always fear of THAT…" A hand came up and pointed across the large room.

They all glanced up and followed his hand to a delirious sort sleeping across the room, light snores coming from his mouth, and a microphone hugged close to his chest in a vice grip.

"Uh…" the optimistic voice from before came, sounding much more unsure this time, "I… think I should probably stop talking to you guys after all. It's nothing personal. I'm all for you guys. But…" He shuddered a little and said no more, walking across the room to talk with the others.

"I knew it," the dark voice came, sounding even darker than before, and his eyes practically burning with contempt.

The small voice from before groaned a little and sniffled a wet sniffle.

"Oh, In Love Arnold, don't cry," a caring voice came this time, and an arm came around the boy and he hugged him close. In Love Arnold collapsed against him, crying.

The small voice came again, hiccupping here and there, "Thanks…"

The dark one sighed and ran a hand through his hair that was drooping just at the tops. "When will we be put out of our misery? In Love Arnold, Honest Arnold, Affectionate Arnold, ME," he put a hand to his chest, "where will it end? It's been bad enough since Dense Arnold started taking control, but NOW we have to deal with this yahoo." He pointed to Crushing Arnold across the room, who was just smiling goofily and swinging his legs in his seat. "We should just face it. We're all DOOMED." He let his head fall back against the wall and scowled.

"Come on, Dark Arnold," Honest Arnold came, patting him on the shoulder, "everything will work out."

Dark Arnold looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "You've been saying that for years and you're supposed to always be honest, but I don't know if I believe you anymore…" He shrugged off his hand.

Honest Arnold just sighed and looked down.

Affectionate Arnold patted In Love Arnold on the back and shushed him, looking sad.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, the sounds of snoring from across the room and the occasional sniffles being the only things filling the room. They just ignored the happy chatter coming from way across large black room, far away from their little reject group.

Finally, Dark Arnold spoke, "To Arnold with the red-hot lips: your football head, your awesome face, your grungy chic, your cat-like grace. Whose red-hot lips do I want to taste? Three guesses, Stupid: Arnold, Arnold, Arnold."

A soft smile came to all their faces, their eyes fell half-lidded, and they hummed a little to themselves. In Love Arnold practically fainted and shuddered a little, coming out of Affectionate Arnold's arms to crawl back into his little corner and grin happily.

"Yes," Dark Arnold's voice came, thick with passion, "we WILL win this. If not for ourselves, for _her_." He winced a little then, glancing over in the corner in In Love Arnold's direction. "And for you, too. You've waited long enough."

In Love Arnold just smiled gratefully. "You've waited a long time, too."

"Not as long as you. _None_ of us as long as you. I mean, Honest Arnold gets used all the time—"

"Not always, not lately," Honest Arnold muttered.

"—Affectionate Arnold gets used from time to time when Arnold plays with Abner—"

"It's okay, I guess," Affectionate Arnold muttered, thinking of how much more he could do if he were just given the chance.

"—and even I'M used every once in a while when Arnold gets angry, but you've just been stashed away up here for years. You've NEVER been used." Dark Arnold finished, frowning.

In Love Arnold just looked down, not responding.

Dark Arnold sighed, looking back over in Dense Arnold's direction. "…Hey, you guys want to play the truth game?"

"What?" In Love Arnold sounded horrified. "No! The last time we played that I got locked up in a cage for a month!"

"Not you, Love," Dark Arnold told him, shaking his head, "Just us. Dense Arnold couldn't get me in a cage if he tried, Honest Arnold is used too much for him to lock him up in a cage and have him STAY for too long, and it's the same for Affectionate Arnold. Don't worry, I'd never ask you to play again. But I'm sure you'd enjoy watching." He smirked.

In Love Arnold considered this a moment with worried, scared eyes, but then he seemed to relax and nodded. "O-Okay. As long as I don't have to go back to that cage…"

The other two Arnolds just shrugged and nodded in agreement.

"All right." Dark Arnold grinned maliciously. "I'll start." He cleared his throat then, straightened his tie a little, and then yelled loudly, "Hey, Dense Arnold!"

"Wh-huh-wha?" Dense Arnold looked up drearily in their direction, his eyesight out of focus.

"You're in love!" he yelled, grinning.

Dense Arnold's eyes widened and he jumped up instantly, shaking his head. "No I'm not!" He scowled, gripping the microphone hard in his hand. "I'm in love with no one! Except maybe Ruth! Right, Crush?" He looked over in Crushing Arnold's direction almost hysterically.

Crushing Arnold just looked up with half-lidded eyes and gave him a thumbs up, still swinging his legs with an almost dopey-looking grin.

"Nah," Honest Arnold said, smiling, "we're pretty certain it's with Helga!"

Dense Arnold stomped his feet and growled, slapping his hands over his ears. "LALALA, I'M NOT LISTENING!"

"Oh, the things we'd just love to do with her," Affectionate Arnold spoke up, looking off in the distance with an affectionate gleam in his eye. "With her cute pigtails and big blue eyes!"

"Oh, but not to say we wouldn't appreciate seeing how she'd look WITHOUT the pigtails," Dark Arnold drawled, smirking to his companions, "Could you just imagine what it might be like to run your fingers through those thick locks?"

In Love Arnold in the corner shuddered hard and swooned.

"WHAT DID HE JUST DO?" Dense Arnold yelled loudly, his eyes wide and his finger pointed stiffly in In Love Arnold's direction, completely ignoring the other Arnolds implications.

In Love Arnold gasped and covered his mouth quick, shaking.

"Nothing," Dark Arnold said smoothly, as if he'd just asked him what time it was. "But did you hear anything we said about how you're in love with Helga? You know, madly, deeply, passionately?" He laughed almost evilly.

Dense Arnold just gave him a hard, almost wild look, his shoulders tense and lips pursed. After a moment, though, he just relaxed and smiled, shaking his head as he said casually, "You guys are so funny sometimes. Me, in love with Helga? Good one." He laughed and then just walked away, saying no more.

"That guy is such a basket case," Honest Arnold muttered.

Dark Arnold just laughed again, knowing this was _Honest_ Arnold talking so it must me true.


	2. Balance

**Subconsciously**

**Balance**

It was another day. Arnold's dreams had centered around planes again. Nothing new.

And as Arnold finished his breakfast and headed out to school, inside his subconscious there was another much more interesting story to be told…

In Love Arnold was just rocking with his arms holding his legs tight to his chest, his eyes closed and mumbling small incoherencies to himself.

Affectionate Arnold was looking bored, as usual; just petting his hand in a slow, almost lethargic manner and trying to imagine it was Helga's.

Honest Arnold looked very indifferent as well, and he was just staring across the room at Dense Arnold pretending to fly a plane across the room. He ran around with his arms stuck out and would occasionally flap them a little as if he were a bird. Under normal circumstances this would be an amusing sight, but after seeing it for possibly the millionth time, it was pretty much equal with seeing grass on the ground, clouds in the sky, or birds doing their business on a statue. In fact, all it made Honest Arnold want to do was shake his head and sigh.

Dark Arnold, though, was just sitting with one leg up, his ankle resting on his knee, and his hand supporting his head as he scowled contemplatively. His mouth twitched every once in a while, and a frustrated sigh would escape him every few minutes. It was starting to become hard to ignore.

Finally, Honest Arnold decided enough was enough and looked over at Dark Arnold, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Dark?"

Dark Arnold's scowling eyes shifted to Honest Arnold's. "Oh, other than the fact that our lives are hopeless pits of despair you ask?" He shifted his body so he was sitting normally and put his hands on his knees, his face going blank. "Oh, everything is just dandy." He smiled dryly.

Affectionate Arnold sighed out in frustration suddenly, and the two Arnolds' eyes went on him. "Why do you always have to be so pessimistic? Honest Arnold says in time Arnold WILL figure out we're here and use us more often. I don't understand why you can't just accept that and try to be patient."

"Hey, hey," Dark Arnold countered, his eyebrows furrowing, "I'm NOT pessimistic. No one in here is pessimistic. I'm just being _realistic_ here. It's been six years and—"

"And Arnold is only nine," Honest Arnold cut in levelly, no special expression on his face. "He's just not mature enough to understand and deal with us yet."

That one got Dark Arnold to scowl. Hard. "Not mature enough to handle us…" he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "I don't believe that one for a second. At five he was already building model planes and trains and saying words like 'gigantic,' 'humongous,' and 'combat.' If that's not mature then I don't know what—"

"I said maturity, not intelligence. They're two different things," Honest Arnold said, once again in his normal, level tone.

Dark Arnold just looked away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I don't understand why we always listen to you," Affectionate Arnold added in now, frowning. "All you ever do is talk about how we're doomed. Only every once in a while do you revert back to your 'Let's do it for Helga!' way of thinking. If we should be following anyone, I think it should be Honest Arnold." He nodded his head toward him.

Honest Arnold just blinked and blushed.

Dark Arnold looked _less_ than pleased, though. In fact, he looked just plain angry. He sat up, his shoulders tense, and stated in an obviously forced level tone with his hands gripping tight to the bottom of his chair, knuckles turning white, "I'm sorry if my leading you has made you feel regretful…"

"Dark Arnold feels the natural need to be leading the way," Honest Arnold stated unexpectedly, raising a hand up as he explained. "It's just who he is. Plus he has a natural charm about him that makes people _want_ to follow him. It's not his fault."

"You can't possibly think we should continue following him," Affectionate Arnold said with wide eyes at his assumed implications.

Honest Arnold looked down a moment… and then back up, his mind more than made up. "Well, we've gone this far, and he's never led us wrong. I don't see any reason why not to."

"Thank you, Honest," Dark Arnold said then, looking very pleased.

"Still—" Affectionate Arnold tried again.

"Shhh…" In Love Arnold piped up, opening his eyes blankly, still rocking. "You're making me feel stressed. Plus, Arnold's talking to Helga now and I'm trying to watch. If my heart rate goes any higher I might die."

"Helga?" Dark Arnold asked, immediately straightening up. "He's talking to her?"

In Love Arnold nodded, stopping in his rocking a moment. "She dropped her pencil and told him to pick it up and now they're fighting."

"In class?"

"In the hallway." In Love Arnold resumed his rocking then, and closed his eyes to watch more.

The other three Arnolds did the same and closed their eyes, watching the scene unfold…

"I gave you back your pencil, Helga," Arnold said in annoyance, closing his locker to turn to her fully, scowling slightly no matter how much he tried to repress it.

Helga rolled her eyes, holding the pencil away from her body between two fingers, as if it smelled badly or something. "Yeah, but you _touched_ it! Now it's contaminated with your icky football headed germs!"

"Helga…" Arnold said, as patiently as he could, but looking very annoyed nonetheless. "How could I have given you your pencil back without touching it?"

"You could have used your sleeve!"

"Fine," he said dismissively, starting to walk away. "Then I'll do that next time."

"Hey!" She grabbed his arm back and pulled him back over to her, holding the pencil back out to him. "I can't take the pencil now! It's disgusting! You take it!"

"Ewww…" Arnold twisted his face, taking a step back from the pencil. "Helga, it has your teeth marks all over it."

"So?"

"I'm not taking your pencil, Helga."

"Fine! Then throw it away!"

"You do it!"

"You're closer!'

"It's _your_ pencil!"

"That _you_ turned to trash!"

"Fine." Arnold's face turned hard and he took the pencil in between two fingers by the eraser and marched stiffly over to the trashcan, and threw it in. "There!" He tapped his foot, crossing his arms. "_Heppy_, Helga?"

"I'm never happy when I'm around you," she grumbled angrily, pushing past him on her way to class.

Arnold just sighed out in frustration and walked away as well, in the opposite direction as her.

The Arnolds in his subconscious all opened their eyes as the scene finished and…

Honest Arnold just slapped his forehead.

Affectionate Arnold mourned over not getting to brush against her hand like he usually did.

Dark Arnold looked a cross between angry and amused. Angry at Arnold and amused at Helga's antics.

And In Love Arnold was shaking violently and looked very dizzy.

And across the room Dense Arnold was just pacing around, mumbling angry words to himself, undoubtedly being tuned in by Arnold himself at the moment as he paced back and forth in the bathroom in his fluster.

Dark Arnold sighed out in satisfaction and leaned back, crossing his legs and arms, smirking. "Well, there went our daily dose of Helga. And did he admit to loving her? _No_. Did he kiss her or hug her? _No_. Did he grab her and tell her she looked heavenly today? _NO_." He sighed, still smirking. "Another day wasted. And Love over there is having a seizure practically." He finally let the smirk fall, revealing a scowling, dry expression. "Fantastic."

In Love Arnold just nodded his head shakily, nearly hyperventilating over in his corner.

Affectionate Arnold on the other hand looked very annoyed with Dark Arnold's words. "Dark, I'm getting sick and tired of you." _He_ scowled this time, something very rare for Affectionate Arnold.

Dark Arnold glanced over at him listlessly. "You deal with this kind of stuff with Helga every day and think it's cute but coming from me it's just _so_ frustrating?"

"At least Helga has the occasional bouts of kindness and sweetness leveling it out, plus she's cute and a girl." Affectionate Arnold frowned deeper. "But with you it's just constant… constant—"

"Darkness?" Dark Arnold smirked tiredly. "How am I supposed to respond to that? I'm sorry?"

"I-I like Dark Arnold…" In Love Arnold spoke up quietly, still shaking slightly, though thankfully he'd managed to get his breathing under control.

Affectionate Arnold glanced over at him, still with that frown, and an incredulous look in his eyes. "Why? All he ever does is crush your hopes. I mean, look at you! You're shaking! You hardly ever say anything!"

"That's why I like him…" In Love Arnold responded, his small voice rising only slightly. He looked determined to get his thoughts out in the open for once. "He can say the things I'd pass out over if I said them. H-He gives me courage. H-He… um…"

"He gives him his boldness," Honest Arnold elaborated, smiling knowingly.

"Exactly." In Love Arnold smiled. "I mean, maybe he's right. Maybe Arnold won't ever discover I'm here. Maybe I'll just be pushed down back here forever. But with Dark Arnold here, despite his words, I think there's a better chance that I will be discovered. He defends me from Dense Arnold. He tells me stories at night about all the things we'll do with Helga when we _are _discovered. He's my best friend. We go hand in hand down here. And so do you, Affectionate Arnold. Dark Arnold knows how to walk and talk, but you know how to coo and kiss, and without Honest Arnold combating Dense Arnold, we all might _never_ be discovered. Let's face it. We all need each other."

"If we don't stick together Arnold will never realize he loves Helga and he'll never be fully honest with himself about anything when it comes to her for the rest of his life," Honest Arnold stated solemnly.

That got them all dead quiet in an instant and caused them all to stiffen at the notion.

Dark Arnold cleared his throat after a minute and glanced over at Affectionate Arnold out of the corner of his eye. "Do you… have anymore complaints?"

Affectionate Arnold looked up at him sadly and shook his head. "No…"

"I-I'm…" Dark Arnold winced, before his face broke out to some vulnerability and he sighed, slumping. "I'm sorry if I seem… pessimistic sometimes. I'm just… a little depressed. But I shouldn't be trying to drag you all into that, too. You have your own problems."

"No," Affectionate Arnold objected, surprising Dark Arnold. "Your problems are our problems." He smiled apologetically, some sheepishness coming to his eyes. "It's… good to share your feelings with us. I mean, Arnold hasn't been facing up to his feelings for six years now, or talking about them to ANYONE, and look where he is…"

A flash of Arnold's angry, flustered pacing in the bathroom, his hands balled up into fists, and his face twisted in frustration passed over their eyes and they shook their heads with a small shiver.

"Yeah…" In Love Arnold spoke up again once the vision passed, wiping his sweaty hands off on his jeans with a small smile. "Don't hesitate to speak your thoughts to us. We're all in the same boat here."

Dark Arnold just… smiled, his eyes softer than usual for him as he said, "Okay…" His eyes went harder again, though, and he said determinedly, "But I WILL try to think more…" he twisted his face, "_optimistically_…" He shook his head a little then and straightened up in his seat, smoothing back his hair with one hand as he smirked a little again. "But don't expect much. Still have to maintain my dark persona over here after all. The last thing we need is _two_ Optimistic Arnolds. Then Arnold might turn into the next _Eugene_ or something." He laughed a little, but it was clear he was a bit disgusted with the possibility.

Honest Arnold spoke up this time, smiling, "We expect nothing less of you, Dark."

Dark Arnold smiled smirkingly and sat back in his seat, his arms crossing themselves over his chest once more. "Thanks, guys."

There was a moment of silence as they all let their conversation settle in the air, before a more peaceful silence came over them… In Love Arnold sighed airily and hugged himself, Affectionate Arnold resumed petting his hand, only this time with a small smile, and Honest Arnold just smiled in knowing that the balance in their little group had once more been restored.

"So…" Dark Arnold said after a few seconds, looking to be in a much better mood than he was before. His eyes sparkled mischievously and they all knew what he was going to say before he said it. "Anyone up for the Truth game today?"


	3. Purring

**A/N: **Before anyone argues "Crush on Teacher" came after his crush on Ruth, that episode was held back from Season 1 (you can tell from the animation quality), so… yeah. XD

* * *

**Subconsciously**

**Purring**

A light snore came from the dark form, sitting slumped in his seat with his arms crossed and his head fallen over on his chest.

"Dark, psst, wake up." Someone nudged him in the arm.

He just mumbled something incoherent, not opening his eyes or moving.

"Dark Arnold, _wake up_... Don't make me hug you."

Dark Arnold's eyes immediately flew open and he sat up straight as a board. "I'm up! I'm up!" He shook his head, rubbing the side of his face and eye to try and come fully into the world of the conscious… or rather, 'subconscious.'

"Thank goodness you're up." Dark Arnold shifted his eyes over to Affectionate Arnold, who had just said these words, and was looking very relieved that he was awake now.

Dark Arnold blinked. "_Urrgh_…" he groaned slightly, straightening out his clothes a little and running a hand through his hair, more awake now. "What'd I miss?"

Honest Arnold spoke this time from his other side, surprising his still-awakening mind a little. "Arnold has found himself a new crush."

"Oh." Dark Arnold's face went dry. "Well, _great_. Who is it this time? I thought he was still crushing on Ruth."

"Apparently not enough for him to not get a crush on a _second_ girl…" In Love Arnold said with a bit of an attitude. It was clear he was ticked that Arnold was going crazy over all these girls that weren't _Helga_. In Love Arnold would get like this every once in a while, and it was more than understandable in a time when Arnold was crushing on _two_ girls instead of just _one, _both of which were not the girl he'd been subconsciously pining over for _years_.

Dark Arnold blinked at that one, and raised an eyebrow. "He's crushing on two girls at the same time?"

"Yes," Honest Arnold answered this time. "But it would seem this crush will only be temporary, though."

"Well, I should hope so." Dark Arnold smirked. "If he never got over these girls, whatever would we do?"

"Seriously, Dark," Affectionate Arnold said. "He's crushing on his _substitute teacher_."

Dark Arnold actually froze at that one; his face went blank and all he could do was blink two very slow blinks… before bursting into laughter, a surprising yet not so surprising reaction for him. After a few seconds of leaning back against the wall and shaking with laughter, he managed to burst out with, "Oh, _please_ don't tell me she feels the same way!" He laughed.

Honest Arnold smiled, feeling a bit amused now too at the entire situation. "Well, we don't think so. She seems to be obsessed with the name 'Arnold' so Arnold went all goofy over the attention. She even recited a love poem with the name Arnold all over in it! Or at least…" he blinked, looking down a moment in confusion, "we thought it had his name all over in it. While she was reading he started daydreaming and we kinda just lost the image after that point." He shrugged. "But she picked a love poem specifically by someone with the name Arnold, and made Arnold move to a closer desk to her. We don't think it's because she likes him, but it is odd. Why does she seem so obsessed with Arnold's name?"

Affectionate Arnold shrugged and added in, "Arnold thinks he was invited over to her house for dinner so he's over there now, but she seemed surprised when he showed up at her door. Gerald overheard that she was inviting 'Arnold' over to her house for dinner from the teacher's lounge, and Dense Arnold was practically doing backflips across the room. None of this makes sense."

Dark Arnold gave them all an incredulous look before just all out snorting and rolling his eyes at their clueless expressions. "Okay, wow. You guys have obviously been spending too much time around Dense Arnold. Obviously she was talking about _another_ Arnold, and if she seemed to favor the name so much, was reading a love poem by 'Arnold,' and was inviting someone named Arnold over to her house, then it's probably someone she's romantically interested in." His expression went dry again at seeing their faces light up in realization. "You guys scare me sometimes." He crossed his arms over his chest, his face still dry. "Why did you wake me up for all this if it's just some random crush that'll be over tomorrow?"

"W-We just, um…" In Love Arnold began, blushing incredibly brightly, but looking very amused.

"We didn't want you to miss the show," Honest Arnold said for him, grinning.

"Miss the show?" Dark Arnold questioned, raising an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, oh! You guys! He's doing it now!" Affectionate Arnold said loudly, opening his eyes after having had them closed.

In Love and Honest Arnold both grinned and quickly shut their eyes, as Affectionate Arnold did the same. Dark Arnold just observed this a moment before closing his own eyes curiously, and watched the scene unfold…

Miss Felter smiled, putting her hands on her hips. "It's almost dinner time. Shouldn't you be heading—"

"Ah, you set a beautiful table, my fair senorita!" Arnold burst out suddenly, before rubbing his hands together, grinning, and… purring! Loudly and almost eagerly!

And right at that moment when the purr burst from _his_ lips, the same purr burst from Dark Arnold's, completely against his will. All the Arnolds eyes burst open at hearing the same purr come from Dark Arnold, including Dark Arnold's, and they all sat stiffly a moment as it sunk in…

"Did he…" Dark Arnold started, his face contorted into a rather odd expression, "Did he just… use me…?"

Honest Arnold blinked, his eyes still wide, along with the other two Arnold's. "It would appear so."

"And he used me to…" Dark Arnold closed his eyes tight and shuddered hard, his hands turning to fists, "to _purr_ to his _stupid adult crush_?"

The three other Arnolds shuddered a bit themselves at his furious tone.

Dark Arnold merely continued, his voice straining with the rage he was desperately trying to repress. But it was hard to repress something when you were _in_ a subconscious and didn't have one yourself. He said, "The first time he ever uses me for something actually romantic… and it's for some woman named _Ms. Felter_? Not _Helga_, but _Ms. Felter_?" He was shaking.

Honest Arnold frowned deeply in concern at his friend. "Dark, try to calm down, please. He couldn't have known—"

"He couldn't have known! He _couldn't_ have _known_!" Dark Arnold finally just burst, standing up from his seat and practically _seething_. "That's what you guys always say! That's always his excuse! Well, he's gone too far this time! And what of Gerald?" he yelled suddenly, scowling darkly. "He's not helping! He got him into this situation! If it hadn't been for him none of this would have happened! Arnold would have just kept on thinking she was the one with the crush and soon forgotten about it and never thought about it _again_! Why won't Gerald help him? Doesn't he understand what he's doing? Honest," he turned his angry eyes to Honest Arnold, who blinked in slight shock at his dark gaze suddenly descending upon him, "I thought you said Gerald suspected Arnold liked Helga! Why is he trying to help him get with some random thirty-year-old if that's so true?"

"Shhh!" Affectionate Arnold suddenly burst, cutting off whatever Dark Arnold had it in his angry head to say next. They all looked at him and Affectionate Arnold looked back with his finger over his mouth, signaling them to be quiet, and then shut his eyes, implying there was something going on. The other Arnolds quickly followed suit.

"Arnold," Miss Felter said warmly with a smile, glancing over at the very handsome man by her side, "I want you to meet Arnold Skelter. He's my fiancé." Arnold Skelter's teeth sparkled and his deep brown eyes glistened attractively in their half-lidded position. "We're getting married in June."

Mr. Skelter reached a tanned hand over to shake Arnold's, still with that grin practically plastered to his perfect face. "Darn glad to meet ya, Arnold."

"So-o…" Arnold began as he took his hand back, his face and voice very blank, "_you_'re Arnold…"

Miss Felter smiled prettily, some understanding starting to come to her lavender-eyeshadowed eyes. "There's been a bit of a mix up here, hasn't there?"

"Yeah, I guess there has," Arnold said, looking a cross between disappointed, awkward, and defeated. "I'm sorry, I-I thought…"

Miss Felter crouched down to his level and put a hand on his arm comfortingly, still with that understanding smile, "Agh, Arnold, I'm glad you came over. I like Arnolds. You're a good kid."

Arnold smiled. "Thanks." He looked down then, the awkwardness of the situation hitting him once more. "I-I better get home."

As Arnold walked down the steps of her stoop and down onto the sidewalk, he heard Miss Felter say, "Don't stop being Arnold."

The Arnolds in his subconscious all opened their eyes at that point, their expressions all much calmer, Dark Arnold's especially.

Affectionate Arnold cleared his throat and said, "Uh, Dark, you're not still angry are you?"

Dark Arnold sighed, sitting back down into his seat, his eyebrows furrowing. "I am," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I just can't believe the first time he ever uses me for something romantic… and it's to try and woo someone… someone…" He shut his eyes in pain.

In Love Arnold frowned sympathetically and put a shaky hand on Dark Arnold's shoulder, trying to comfort him. "We know, Dark, we know. We're sorry this happened to you."

Dark Arnold growled a little in frustration and ran both his hands through his hair roughly, making In Love Arnold withdraw his hand. He then said, "I'm just so disgusted with this situation."

"Well, look at it this way," Affectionate Arnold said, smiling kindly, "Arnold wasn't trying to woo another woman, he was just practicing for when he's going to purr to _Helga_."

There was a moment of silence.

Then Dark Arnold grinned and uncurled his fists, starting to rub his hands together a little. "Well, that would be one way to look at it, now wouldn't it?" His eyes went half mast. All anger was gone, much to the relief of _all_ the Arnolds.

"P-Purr to H-Helga?" In Love Arnold's quivery voice came, and he was just sitting in his little corner with his eyes wide and both hands grabbing at his chest, under which his heart was pounding harder than ever before.

Affectionate Arnold shot his gaze over to In Love Arnold and made a small noise of sympathy before scooting over to give him a hug and try to calm his nerves.

Dark Arnold just continued grinning though, and looked over at In Love Arnold's shaky form and said, "Oh, come on, Love. Can you just imagine how Helga would react if we suddenly came up to her and went…" He leaned over then, the tips of his dark blonde hair falling over into his face a little as he grinned and purred as charmingly as he could.

In Love Arnold's eyes rolled up into the back of his head a moment, and he very nearly passed out right then, but after a moment he managed to blink himself out of it and shuddered very hard instead. Affectionate Arnold pulled back and patted him on the back.

"You know," Honest Arnold said suddenly, looking thoughtful, and they all looked at him, "don't you guys find it interesting that as soon as Miss Felter's 'feelings' for him became more and more real to him, the more almost… panicked and repulsed he acted?"

Dark Arnold blinked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Actually, now that you mention it," Affectionate Arnold cut in before Honest Arnold could talk, an eyebrow of his own raised up in observation, "I did notice Arnold seemed more like he just wanted to get out of the situation more than have his crush reciprocated."

"Do you think he has a fear of commitment?" In Love Arnold asked, fear in his eyes.

"Or he has a fear of ever having his affections reciprocated by anyone that isn't Helga," Honest Arnold said, smiling. "Like he has some subconscious fear that he'll get tied down by someone and not be available for Helga to admit to her feelings."

"That's what I'm afraid of," In Love Arnold said, pouting a little in his corner.

Dark Arnold rolled his eyes a little. "Heck, who of us _isn't_ afraid of that?"

"Well, there you go, you guys." Honest Arnold grinned, his eyes sparkling. "He was tuning in on us!"

"He was tuning in on me specifically, though," Dark Arnold pointed out.

"Unless," Affectionate Arnold countered, looking intrigued by this entire conversation, "he's always been tuning in on us… just… _unconsciously_…"

All of this had been slowly starting to process in Dark Arnold's ever articulating mind, and it was at this moment he finally just sat up and exclaimed excitedly (completely against his normally dark and dismal way of talking), "You think we're actually starting to gain some control of him without his knowing?"

Honest Arnold grinned just as excitedly, clasping his hands in front of himself. "I believe so!"

"Oh!" Dark Arnold grinned, straightening up his tie and smoothing back his hair a little, feeling the need to spruce up a bit for an occasion such as this. "To think it might actually be starting to happen… Are you hearing all this, In Love? He's finally starting to acknowledge us! Honest Arnold said it, so it must be true!"

In Love Arnold just grinned back, sitting up for once with his big green eyes filled to the brim with hope. "R-Really? You think it's really possible?"

Affectionate Arnold went on in his own excitement, "We're finally starting to creep our ways into his conscious a little."

"Not to say we haven't always been doing that," Honest Arnold brought up, "This may just be the first time we ever actually _noticed_."

"Who cares?" In Love Arnold exclaimed, supporting his head in his hands with his elbows propped up on his knees. His eyes were big and dreamy, as they usually were, but now there was a note of happiness glistening in them, something that hadn't been there before. "The point is that he's starting to at least act accordingly… now all we have to do is wait for it all to get so dramatic for him that he can't deny that he's… absolutely _crazy_ for Helga G. Pataki…" He shuddered hard.

Dark Arnold sat back and smiled a little, his eyes out of focus, and clasped his hands in front of himself on his stomach. Normally in times like this (they were very rare, but they did come every few years), he would be telling them all to calm down and try to think more realistically. But this time… he could just feel it. This was real, something was starting to give, just _a little_. And even in his darkest of times, in his most depressed of states, he knew he could not deny that. He would not deny them all their happiness this time… After six years, they deserved a break, and it would seem they'd gotten it. And so, with these happy thoughts bouncing around in his… slightly less dark mind, he simply mused, "Perhaps we won't have to wait so long to purr to her after all…"

* * *

**A/N:** _OR_ he just has a fear of having a full-fledged relationship with some chick twenty years older than him. :P I know I'D be very unnerved if any of my grown up crushes suddenly felt the same way. XDXDXD

Anywho, review, my lovelies. ;) Oh! Also, I'm dedicating the purring to Azure129 just 'cause. XD :x

AND THAT IS ALL!

_**REVIEW!**_


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